


Keep you grounded

by dreamfleet, mezmerize



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Barista Finn, M/M, PWP, Pilot Poe, poe is lowkey his sugar daddy, sort of, this is pointless valentine's day fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 13:48:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9744188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamfleet/pseuds/dreamfleet, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mezmerize/pseuds/mezmerize
Summary: Sometimes love is hard to find.Sometimes it just takes a frying pan, an international texting plan, and a rose.





	

The hours tick by, slowly, painfully. Every time Finn looks at the clock, he’s sure it has to be at least nine. Every time he looks, it’s barely ten minutes from the last time he checked. 

He's waiting for nine fifteen. That’s when Poe will show up and Finn’s shift will  get infinitely better. Poe might even bring him something, like he usually does. Maybe some weird candy or a trinket that he thought Finn would like. They might even get to kiss, if no other customers are around.

And then Poe will leave again to get some much deserved sleep. 

And Finn’s shift will last another three hours. 

And then he’ll go home alone.

He sighs and makes the next coffee, a skim latte, mindlessly foaming the milk as he imagines Poe whisking him away to the cockpit of his plane, Poe’s lips dancing down his throat.

He has to stop that train of thought before it gets too far.

“Hey, man, can I get a gingerbread peppermint mocha ? Biggest one you got? With caramel on top.”

Finn looks up, blinking. He can’t help the grimace when he imagines the intense sweetness of that combination. “Are you sure?”

Poe grins at him from the other side of the counter, lounging in his flight jacket like he owns the place. “I know what I’m about. Been daydreaming about it for like, half the flight home. Well,” he pushes himself up, glancing at the guy on his phone who still hasn’t picked up his latte, and leans over just enough to push a kiss to Finn’s cheek, “been dreaming about seeing you, too.”

“Right,” Finn catches his hand and pulls him back for a deep kiss, holding Poe there for a long moment. He grins, the tension of the shift melting away at the soft press of Poe’s lips on his.

“Oh,” Poe breathes against his mouth, “we’re doing the PDA thing? Alright.” He pushes himself up even more over the counter until the edge digs into his ribs and slides one hand behind Finn’s ear to keep him there. “Works for me.”

“Wanted to see you,” Finn mumbles, then pulls back with a sheepish smile. “But you wanted your coffee. And I have to work,” he smooths his apron, stepping back. “You sure you, uh, want a giant one? That has like, three pounds of sugar in it.”

“The biggest one,” Poe repeats with a grin. His mouth shines a bit, damp from being pressed to Finn’s. “Three pounds of sugar and fake peppermint gingerbread flavor is exactly what I need right now. I might even Instagram it. Hashtag blessed. Hashtag seasons of love.”

Finn opens his mouth to say something, then shuts it. He rings up Poe’s order and adds on a chocolate muffin for himself. He gives Poe a Look, then says, “seven dollars. With my discount. For your sugar swill.”

“Sugar swill which tastes like Christmas. And happiness.” Poe corrects as he fishes out his wallet. He hands Finn a ten, then leans in to kiss him one more time. “It’s delicious and you know it.”

“I don’t. I refuse to know it,” Finn gets his change, holding out the bills for him. “I’ll make your drink, then take my break.” He raises an eyebrow at Poe. Instead of taking the money, Poe pockets his wallet and flashes Finn an easy grin, lounging against the counter again.

“Sounds good to me. How long of a break d’you get?”

“Fifteen,” Finn makes a face a holds the money out for him, holding it up by his face. “Take it.”

“I already put my wallet away! ” Laughing, Poe shoves himself back off the counter and goes to wait by the guy who probably hasn’t looked up from his phone once. He leans on that counter instead, one elbow and his hair across his face like something out of an old movie. Finn sighs deeply and starts making his drink.

He can feel Poe’s eyes on him . H e tries to look good, but no one ever said that making coffee was sexy. Well, someone on Instagram definitely did, but no one who actually works with an espresso maker has.

Adding way too much peppermint favoring, he finishes the giant drink with a drizzle of caramel and hands the monstrosity over to Poe along with the muffin. He glances back to where his shift manager is, lazing in the back of the shop, then leans forward and presses his lips to Poe’s cheek. “You wanna drink that first?”

Poe catches his lips before he can pull away entirely and curls both hands around the cup with a grin. “Would you judge me if I said yes?”

“You might need it,” Finn murmurs with a tiny grin, taking the bag back from the counter. Poe’s brows shoot up as he shoves himself up again.

“Don’t go making promises you can’t keep in 15 minutes.”

“Just because we’ve taken forever before,” Finn says, ripping off a piece of muffin and shoving it in his mouth. Poe’s eyelashes actually flutter as he takes a sip of his  drink. He  _groans_ a little bit, a sound Finn has definitely heard before. Finn shoots him a dirty look and chews the muffin determinedly.

“This is everything I wanted,” Poe mumbles around the lid with his eyes still closed. He lowers it a second later and actually takes the lid off entirely to show the thick layer of whipped cream beneath. Some it sticks to his lip after he takes a drink, and his tongue darts out pink and wet to clean it away. Finn’s eyes follow it, his mouth dry. Poe always does his to him. Poe makes him want, and want, and he needs to feel Poe’s lips against him, teasing his skin, his words smooth and easy and soothing.

“Typical,” Finn says, voice rough.

Poe’s brown eyes glitter at him over the rim of his cup. “It’s just coffee.”

“That’s an insult to my craft,” Finn says, trying to adopt a haughty tone.

“Oh,” Poe takes another long, slow sip of his coffee, “is that what it is now? You an artisan?”

“Latte art. It’s a thing,” Finn mutters.

Poe almost drops his cup. “Finn Williams, do you know how to do latte art?” He demands, leaning forward. “Have you been holding out on me? I could have been getting adorable hearts in my foam this whole time—“

Finn throws a piece of muffin at him. “You get a heart every time and you drink it before you even look at it! My art is wasted on you.” Poe, the asshole, snatches the muffin right out of the air and pops it into his mouth with a wink.

“I’m the worst. Can I ever make it up to you?”

“Well, you already bought me this muffin,” Finn leans forward, his hand on the counter. The guy on his phone finally left. They’re alone except for Finn’s shift manager. Poe definitely notices, leaning forward with a tiny smile playing on his lips.

“Doesn’t really feel like enough.”

“Maybe there’s something else,” Finn breathes, tension taut in his gut. His eyes drop to Poe’s lips, then back to his eyes.

“Oh,” Poe breathes, smile widening. “I think I can manage something.”

“I’ll take my break,” Finn says immediately and pushes away from the counter before he jumps over it and plasters himself to Poe. He sucks in a deep breath, then turns back to his manager and smiles. “Uh. I’m gonna take my break now. Yeah. Thanks.”

She looks disinterested. Finn practically twirls back into Poe, holding out his hand. “C’mon.”

“You got a plan?” Poe laughs as he curls their fingers together, easy as anything, like they see each other every day and not once or twice a week at most, whenever Poe manages to fly back in when Finn is on shift. “Cause my plan mostly involved coffee and pretty much stopped there. I was gonna wing it. Good at that.”

“Shut up or that is where it’s gonna stop,” Finn tells him flatly and shoves open the door to the break room.

The airport is pretty populated at this time of night, but the break room is nearly silent. Finn whips around, staring at Poe, his chest heaving.

“Do my plane puns not turn you on?” Poe asks as he presses up against Finn, pushing him up against the closed door. Finn falls back, the hand holding his the bag with his muffin falls to his side. Staring at Poe, he smiles lazily.

“Not even a little bit.”

“Did I really buy you that muffin?” Poe pushes a soft kiss under his chin, breath washing warm over Finn’s throat. He still has his latte in one hand.

“Maybe,” Finn tilts his head back, his free hand skimming over Poe’s back. “Fifteen minutes, Poe.”

“Pushy,” mumbles Poe, but he shoves himself away from Finn to take another drawn-out sip of his ridiculous mocha, tossing his head back so Finn can see his throat work as he swallows. When he’s swallowed way more at one time than any human should, he shoves the cup onto the table behind them and pushes back up against Finn, grinning. “Gotta get caffeinated if I only have 15 minutes with you.”

Grinning, Finn leans back against the door, letting his body stretch out long, even if its covered in a black polo and a Starbucks apron. “My shift ends at midnight if you need more time.” Laughing, Poe slides both his hands down Finn’s sides, over the strings of the apron and around to his ass. 

“Gonna have to take you up on that,” he breathes wetly into Finn’s ear. “Missed you.”

Finn shivers and drops the muffin to the ground so he can slide his palms up Poe’s spine. “You were gone for way too long.”

“Next time I’ll tell Ben to let me come home early,” Poe promises, even though they both know he has no control whatsoever over his own schedule. He lives on Ben’s whims. 

Now, though. Now he’s all Finn’s, pushing a soft peppermint-flavored kiss against his lips and laughing.  Finn drags him in and takes his mouth in a deep kiss.  The coffee  and chocolate  taste so much better on Poe’s tongue. Moaning softly, his hands trail down Poe’s back to cup his ass, pulling him in against Finn’s chest.

“Thought you hated peppermint,” Poe murmurs against his mouth. His hands are already working at Finn’s regulation-dark jeans. By now they’ve both perfected the art of 15 minutes and 15 minutes only. They probably have 14 and a half left, and Poe’s shoving his pants down his hips. Finn thrusts into his hands, nipping at his lips.

“Can’t stand it,” he breathes, tugging at Poe’s belt.

“Oh,” Poe laughs and pulls away from his mouth to push a kiss to his shoulder instead, “we can just quit with the kissing, then, if you hate it so much—”

Finn grabs for Poe’s hair and pulls him back up to crush their lips together again. His other hand shoves into Poe’s pants, fingers wrapping around his cock. Poe’s laughter shakes through his entire body, but it devolves quickly into a groan as he leans against Finn. His tongue is sugar-sweet. It should be gross.

But his hands are in Finn’s jeans again, shoving them down with his underwear and all until Poe can get both hands on Finn’s ass and yank him closer. Finn gasps and then laughs, his face dropping into the crook of Poe’s neck. His fingers lazily stroke Poe’s cock and he mumbles, “thought about you all day.”

“Oh yeah?” Poe breathes around quick, sloppy kisses. He pushes himself into Finn’s hand with a tiny choked sound, slipping forward until he can shove one thigh between Finn’s and press up against him, too. “Tell me.”

Finn shudders and buckles against him, his fingers curling in Poe’s belt. “Your texts didn’t help. You,” he laughs and bites at Poe’s throat, tightening his fingers around Poe’s cock, “had me hard behind the counter. Had to hide it from my manager.”

Poe has this  _thing_ where, when he’s really bored and stuck in Thailand or Cancun or wherever he’s off to that month, he texts Finn.

Sometimes it’s things like,  _help me, I almost got kidnapped by a prince_ and then worrying silence until, hours later, Finn gets an  _it’s all good we’re friends now_ .

Most of the time, it’s things like,  _thinking about how awesome sex would be in this giant hotel bathroom_ followed by very vivid descriptions of exactly how that would go down.

Today the texts were about how  _Poe_ would go down if he was here and he’s clearly bent on actually making that happen, tilting his head under Finn’s mouth with a quiet gasp and working Finn’s jeans even further down his thighs so that their skin slides together. 

“I aim to please,” he breathes, sounding entirely too smug, and, with a flash of teeth to nip at Finn’s jaw, slips backwards away from his hand and drops to his knees in front of Finn. He winks. “In thirteen minutes or less.”

Finn stares at him, his expression falling slack. Poe, on his knees, hands on Finn’s thighs, has happened exactly four times in the last month. And each time, Finn’s felt like something is a little more right in the world. Every time Poe texts him, he can think about this, remember exactly how it felt, exactly what Poe did to him, and it makes his shift at the Starbucks  in Houston Hobby airport  just that much more bearable.

Fingers slip down Poe’s cheek and Finn smiles hazily. “Thirteen minutes. A lot can happen in thirteen minutes.” Poe’s eyelashes flutter dark against his cheeks as he looks up at Finn, pressing a slow, wet kiss to the seam of his thigh.

“I’ve worked with shorter limits,” he breathes, and he’s definitely teasing, letting one hand slip up Finn’s thigh and around to squeeze his ass. Finn laughs breathlessly and his fingers push into Poe’s hair.

“Tell me about it. Later.”

“With pleasure.” Poe’s hair is soft as ever under his fingers, sliding as he leans up on his knees and kisses the tip of Finn’s cock, eyes flickering up again. Words press against Finn’s lips, but he doesn’t let any of them through. He thrusts shallowly against Poe’s lips, tugging on his hair.

Poe is a horrible tease, usually, but they’re short on time and they haven’t seen each other in nearly a week and so he’s being easy on Finn: sliding his lips down Finn’s cock to the base, wet-mouthed and easy, and laughing when Finn presses forward. “Impatient,” he breathes, and immediately lets Finn slide past his lips before he can even answer. Finn lets out a groan and his fingers tighten in Poe’s hair, yanking hard.

“Yeah, Poe,” he breathes, Poe’s tongue dragging over his shaft. Poe glances up at him through his lashes. He tugs at Finn, pressing him further into his mouth and slipping his fingers up Finn’s thigh, light and soft and teasing. “I want,” Finn breathes, sensation shooting through him. He wants to go home with Poe after his shift. He wants to wake up tomorrow curled in Poe’s arms. He wants to spend the day talking with Poe about his life and about his work.

Now, Poe’s lips are around his cock, tight and hot and wet and Finn thrusts into his mouth. It’s all they can have, for now: 15 minutes in a break room in the airport with Poe groaning around him, his hands tight on Finn like he can’t let go. He’s a menace with his tongue and his fingers, like he’s everywhere around Finn at once, pressed as close as he can get.

“Oh my god.”

Finn yanks on his hair. His cock slips deeper into Poe’s mouth, bumping against the back of his throat. Poe likes it when he thrusts, when he takes over and takes what he wants. He tries that now, a little bit, and thrusts, his cock sliding against lips and tongue and a touch of teeth. Hissing, he does it again. Poe groans around him, bows forward a little with his clothed knees skidding on the tile. His cheeks are flushed and his hair is wild from Finn’s fingers, and when he looks up at Finn again his eyes have gone dark with desire and the curl of heat from the slide of his tongue. He moves in time with Finn, catching the rhythm easily, pushing him deeper with a tiny sound that stays trapped in his throat. The door creaks a little. Poe shivers, laughs low in a way that vibrates around Finn’s cock, and trails one finger over the sensitive skin at the crease of his thigh. Finn shudders and jerks, rounding over him. He keeps his grip tight and he says through gritted teeth, “you, you want someone to come in and see.”

Poe glances up with something like challenge flashing across his face, something like mischief as he lets his teeth barely skim over Finn’s cock and then soothes it promptly away with his tongue. He pets down Finn’s thighs and back up, around to grab onto him again, then pulls off until just the head of Finn’s cock bumps his lips and he can pant out, “maybe not _come in_ , that’d get awkward real fast—”

“Okay,” Finn laughs breathily, “but you know that they could. There’re hundreds of people out there, they could come in the wrong door.”

“They could, yeah,” Poe gasps, and wraps his lips around Finn again, eyes fluttering shut in concentration. Finn pulls on his hair again and grins.

“God, I missed you.”

They have probably less than ten minutes left before Finn has to be back behind the counter out there. With a soft groan, Poe pushes at Finn, pressing him back against the door and pinning him there with one arm braced on his thigh. Finn gasps and falls back, his hips pushing against Poe. Heat tangles tight in his gut. Poe groans again, his lips stretched wide as he pushes slowly forward, keeping Finn as still as possible. There is the soft scrape of teeth and then his tongue, wet and flat, and then Poe’s nose is pressed into the hair at the base of Finn’s cock. Finally, he drops his arm keeping Finn against the wall and pointedly pinches his ass.

“Yes,” Finn breathes, and his hips snap, thrusting into Poe’s mouth. He holds Poe’s eyes for a long moment until he can’t, his own breath ragged, his gut hot and twisting and he’s so close to coming, so enamored with the man kneeling in front of him. Poe’s hands are everywhere again, sliding up his thighs and around to his ass, pressing lightly at the sensitive skin just behind his balls as he groans quietly around Finn. His own hips twitch a little, thrusting against nothing at all.

“Poe,” Finn’s voice shakes and his fingers grip Poe’s hair too tight, coming hard down his throat. His thighs quake and he would slip down the wall if Poe’s hands weren’t there supporting him. “Poe,” he says again, soft. Poe pulls away after a long moment and Finn slips from his mouth with a wet sound that’s loud in the tiny room. 

“Time,” he breathes in a raspy voice, staring up at Finn.

“Uh,” Finn says, blinking at him. “Dunno. You’re closer to my phone.” Laughing, Poe drops a quick, wet kiss against Finn’s hip and reaches into his jeans to thumb his phone on.

When he sees the time, he grins. “Five minutes left. Not bad.”

Finn grins and slowly slides down the door, only remembering to hike up his pants so his bare ass doesn’t hit the floor. His hand slips behind Poe’s neck and he kisses him gently, and his other hand drops to slide over Poe’s cock. Poe reacts instantly, moaning into Finn’s mouth and pushing forward. His knees skid on the tile just a little. There isn’t much friction like this but Poe doesn’t seem to care as he wraps both arms around Finn. Finn tightens his grip and pushes his tongue into Poe’s mouth. He feels hazy and happy and Poe is in his arms. This is all he wants.

It doesn’t seem like it’ll take even the full five minutes for Poe to finish, the way he breathes Finn’s name when they pull apart. He tastes like Finn, still, the taste heavy on his tongue, and his lips are swollen and his breath comes short and sharp as Finn brings him closer. “I missed you,” he breathes, “every damn, every day, and there’s so much there that you’d’ve like to see, I bet—”

“Yeah, I would,” Finn smiles and kisses over his jaw. “Wish I could go with you. Hate it every time you leave.”

Poe’s head tilts under his lips, easy as anything. He rocks up into Finn’s hand with a choked off groan. “Take you with me sometime, anywhere you wanna go,”

“Surprise me,” Finn murmurs and he pushes Poe back with a hand hard on his chest. Dropping down, his lips seal over the head of Poe’s cock, his hand working the shaft in quick jerks.

_“Finn_ ,” Poe falls back on his elbows with a thud, swearing unevenly under his breath. He presses his knee into Finn’s shoulder and jerks up as far as Finn will let him. “Ah, you, you’d love the Andes, they’re gorgeous— _fuck_ , I’m not gonna—”

Finn makes a low noise, his tongue stroking flat over Poe’s slit. He’s slick and salty and Finn’s eyes flutter shut. Poe’s words are lost to breath which usually means that Finn’s doing well and has overwhelmed him into silence. All he can do is pant Finn’s name and thrust up into his mouth, his thighs trembling. “Shit, _please_ ,” he manages to gasp out. Pleasure thrills in Finn’s chest and his lips curve in a smile. His hands slide under Poe’s ass, pulling him further into his mouth.

Poe has to shove a hand over his mouth to keep from yelling like Finn knows he wants to, holding himself up on only one elbow. He shoves at Finn’s shoulder with his knee like a warning only seconds before he comes, jerking up hard into Finn’s mouth. Finn swallows around him, slowly easing Poe back to the ground. Pulling off of him, Finn rests his cheek on Poe’s hip.

“I’m gonna be late,” he mumbles.

“Whose fault is that,” Poe mumbles back, still panting. “Holy shit, Finn.”

“Don’t think it’s just mine,” Finn says, his fingers sketching down Poe’s thigh. Poe shivers a little and shoves himself up, twisting around to grab for Finn’s phone again. 

“You have like. Thirty seconds.”

“Okay, fine,” Finn pushes himself up onto his knees, eyes skating down Poe’s body. “Mm…” he smiles and strokes over Poe’s stomach. 

“Twenty-five,” Poe says unhelpfully. He tugs himself up until he’s sitting and leans into kiss Finn one last, slow and lingering and tinged with affection. “You said you’re off in a few hours, right?”

“Yeah. You don’t have to stay til midnight. You flew halfway across the world today,” Finn pushes his fingers into Poe’s hair, then drops them to fix his clothes.

“And you’ve made, like, 600 lattes,” Poe kisses his cheek, nosing close for a moment. “I’ll stick around. If, uh,” it’s strange to hear the note of uncertainty in his voice, even as his hands skim down Finn’s sides, “If you want.”

“I would love that,” Finn smiles and stays close. After a second, he lets out a deep breath. “Okay. Gotta get back to work. Uh. I’ll see you in three hours.”

“Three hours,” Poe parrots back, and reaches to help Finn tug his jeans up the rest of the way.

* * *

The first thing that Poe (knowingly) buys him is a frying pan.

It’s a very nice frying pan. When Finn checks it out on Amazon, it’s worth $59.99.  It’s green and ceramic and promises to never let anything stick to it.  Finn can hear the infomercial in his brain—he’s sure that that’s where Poe got it.

He texts Poe a picture of fried eggs that night, sizzling and perfect  and definitely not sticking.

_awesome!_ Poe texts him back immediately. _so its not way too big for your stove?? thought maybe it would be but its really heinous that you didnt have a frying pan before this. now i can make u pancakes!_

_the really important things in life._ Finn texts back, leaning against the counter with a smile. Who wo uld have thought that spilling coffee on someone would lead to great presents for his tiny apartment? Finn was running after a customer who left both her bag and her coffee at the counter, hurtling around people in the halls, until he slammed into one of them, a man looking bewildered and confused to find himself on the floor, a harried Finn on top of him. 

Poe helped  him up, and helped him return the bag to the customer, before they both had to clean off their clothes. Luckily, it was an iced coffee.

As soon as they were clean, Poe had promptly followed Finn back to the shop and spent the next hour, exhausted after a return trip from South America, drinking way too much coffee and flirting ridiculously with Finn until he’d nearly fallen asleep right there on the counter.

It escalated quickly from there. That first day ended with Finn waking Poe up at the end of his shift and walking him back to his car, but a few days later Poe showed up, ordered a coffee to-go and asked Finn to walk with him on his break. That ended with them in the break room, Poe pushed against the wall, the two of them making out like teenagers.

Poe’s been texting him and visiting Finn at the little airport Starbucks ever since, always at strange inconsistent hours, always bright-eyed and interested in whatever Finn is telling him (recently, his struggles to cook things using only one pot and a microwave, which, prior to the pan in which Finn’s eggs are sizzling, was all he had.)

_P: pancakes are really important. what time is it there?_

_nearly 7. where are u even?_ Finn dumps the eggs onto his toast and takes them to his little table.

P:  _sri lanka. it’s almost_ _6_ _. am. briiiight and early._

_why are you awake? or are you flying back?_  Finn brings up Sri Lanka on his phone and whistles. It’s extremely far away. On the other side of the world, practically.

_P: i am awake because i have definitely NOT adjusted to sri lankan time. also i may have consumed 3_ _knockoff sri lankan_ _red bulls. or 4. i don’t remember?_

_F: jesus_. _take care of yourself._ He takes a bite of toast, then frowns. _did you order m_ _e_ _a_ _frying pan from sri lanka?_

_P: yup. but it shipped from the US which is why it didn’t go on a really cool adventure around the globe before getting to u. i am fine! going to find food._ _exciting news: i am illegal here!_

_F: why are you illegal? do you not have a visa? google says you don’t really need a visa. unless you’re not a US citizen._

_is that inappropriate? sorry_ he adds a second later. Poe takes barely two seconds to text him back after that.

_P: not inappropriate, i am a us citizen thanks 2 my dad._

_P:_ _no the gay thing is illegal._

_P:_ _…did u research visas for me?_

_F: yeah. maybe. being gay is illegal there? that blows._

_P: TECHNICALLY no, it doesn’t at all_

_F: shut up. don’t go to jail cause you can’t keep your hands off the sexy sri lankan men._

_P:_ _are you really worried about that_

_F: hey, don’t let me stand in your way. just the national law of the country you’re in._

_F: when do you come back?_

_F: bet I’m better than those sri lankan guys._

Finn wonders, sometimes, what this is. Poe comes by every few days, sometimes just once a week, teasing and flirting and they usually end up in the break room, making out or sometimes a quick blowjob before Finn has to go back to work. They text every day, almost all the time except when Poe is in the air. Sometimes even then.

It’s been two months of this and Finn wants to see him as much as he can, even if it’s just this.

_P: babe u are way better than the sri lankan guys. 1st of all it is not illegal f_ _or us to make out_ _. 2nd of all you dont try to touch my hair without my permission_

_P: seriously this is a thing??_

Finn snorts.  _hah. welcome to the life of black people in america._

_F: the hair thing. and kinda the gay thing._

_P: both. and both are awful. i’m sorry you deal with that_ _gonna give everyone who tries it a stern talking to on ur behalf_ _. how are your eggs?_

_F: delicious. thanks to the pan. and the pan is thanks to you._

_P: because you should have a pan! finn, buddy, honey, you deserve pans. and more than pans_

_P:_ _but at the very least definitely pans._

Finn feels his face turn hot. _thanks. i would get you something but i don’t think you need anything. except your own plane but i don’t think i can buy you that._

_P: you can get me you. you could also get me a mocha when i get back._

Swallowing hard, Finn moves to the sink and drops his plate in. It lands with a clack. 

_F_ :  _when do you come back? i work tonight and tomorrow night._

_P: tomorrow night_ _,_ _should be your time. i think. it’s a pretty quick event. i am going to need a fourth fake red bull to survive today._

_F: don’t they let you sleep? i feel like a tired pilot is a bad idea._

_P: I need to sleep tonight so I’m awake for the flight, which means no sleep today + crashing at the end. trust me, i have it down to a science at this point_

_F: that sounds horrible. do you get time off once you’re back. I have my two days and i could always spend them at your place._

Poe has been promising that to Finn almost every time they’ve seen each other, in between quick kisses in whatever time they can steal. He’s described his place to Finn so well Finn can almost picture it, usually in conjunction of some vivid idea of what they’d be doing. Finn has a very clear picture of the kitchen table, the shower, Poe’s bright orange couch, and his bed.

_P: brilliant idea. i have exactly 3 days off_ __

_F: i’m jealous. even if my days off are wed and thurs, it’s still only two._

_P: they need to give my body clock time to recover or i may actually crash the plane. its in my contract after a flight like this one._

_P: it WASNT at one point but after i did a 16-day basically planet-hop and almost crashed into the atlantic i made them add it in. getting places faster is not worth dying._

_F: christ, poe. i’m glad they take better care of you now. that sounds illegal. like you._

_P: so illegal. may deport me. like that one guy, the saudi one._

_F: for being too hot. yup. that’s you._

_F: so how come Your Hotness is going to come back to little old me, huh?_

_P: because sweetheart they would deport u as soon as u landed here_ __

_F: shut up. get back here now or else i’m going to text you inappropriate thing_ _s_ _for the rest of the night. day._

_P: as inappropriate as i keep thinking because i doubt u could beat me at this point_

Finn stares at the text, his body feeling hot. He remembers Poe’s mouth on him, his hands running down Finn’s hips, and he has to shove away the thought as quickly as it comes. 

Yet, he can’t help himself and texts back:

_okay try me._

Poe is bad for his work ethic.

_P: been thinking since i landed how much i want you in my mouth_

Finn groans and drops his head to the table. He has to leave for work in ten minutes.

_P: anyway it’s only 24 hrs_ _\+ a bit away_

_F: we can’t do that in the middle of my shift again. at least not when you take more than 15 minutes to do it._

_P_ :  _i can do fast. but taking my time on_ _you_ _is a lot better._

_F: objectively, yes. but i’m sorry, poe. that extra five minutes of cock sucking isn’t worth losing my job for_

_P: alright yeah that makes sense_

_P: so we’ll just have to use ur days off to make up for it_ __

_F: yes, please._ _and maybe we can get around to fucking one of these days. i’m not getting any younger, you know_

_P: well_ _if youd stop having to run off to make ppl coffee we could have done that by now. and now im going to be thinking about that the whole way home_ _. thanks for that_

_F: you’re welcome._ _and don’t put that all on me. you keep going to china and zambia and sri lanka where i decidedly am not. spend a damn wednesday and thursday here for once, will you?_

_P: so suddenly_ _youre_ _patriotic when sex is on the line. i see how it is._

_F:_

_F: your countries need you_

_F: send help_

_F:_

_P:_ _you are_ _way too cute im going to have to come back right now. save the day. i can definitely save the day_

_P: what am i saving the day from exactly_

_F: abstinence._

_P: the true scourge of our modern age!!_ _omw. or i will be. in like 9 hours._

Poe texts him again around eight minutes later when Finn is half-dressed in his work uniform.

_P: do not drink 4 red bulls finn it is a terrible idea. i think i can taste colors??_

_F: dear god, Poe. get water and drink lots of it_

_F: but not tap water, the internet tells me._

It’s only then that he realizes that his research too him far too long, along with the time he spent imagining spending time with Poe in the beautiful countryside of Sri Lanka, archaic laws aside.

_F_ :  _shit, how do you make me late even when you’re halfway across the world?? gotta go. will text from work if i can_

_F: miss u_

_P: miss u 2. thanks for looking out for me halfway around the world. promise i will find some non tapwater and drink it. tell_ _your_ _boss it is my fault._

Finn grins at his phone as he runs out the door.

The second thing Poe buys him is an international texting plan. 

* * *

On February 14th, Poe turns up with a beautiful orange cashmere scarf from Russia that he wraps around Finn’s neck when he returns one morning toward the end of Finn’s shift. It’s three AM and Finn is cleaning up the shop, ready for close.

Gets so cold in here at night,” Poe explains with a soft smile on his face. He looks very tired, curls soft and a bit flat around his head. His hands are very gentle as he smooths it down. “You’re off soon, right?”

“Yeah,” Finn leans on the mop, smiling stupidly at him. Three AM is his new five PM. He reaches up a hand to smooth over the scarf. “Thank you. It’s so soft.”

“Right?” Poe is relentlessly cheerful, despite the tired shadows ringing his eyes. “It should keep you a lot warmer. Plus,” he grins, bites his lip, and leans back against one of the tables, “super stylish. I think. That’s what the sales guy said.”

“Only you would believe that orange is stylish,” Finn says, but he throws the end over his shoulder and preens, mimicking a supermodel. Poe mimes taking a few pictures of him, bending into ridiculous angles and collapsing with him into laughter when he nearly topples over.

“Man, I dunno how the paparazzi do it. Hurry up, huh? I have plans for you.” His eyes practically glitter in the fluorescent lights overhead. Finn swallows, and grins back. He finishes the floor as quickly as he can, feeling Poe’s eyes on his back the whole time. 

“You want coffee?” Finn asks, voice a little hoarse.

“Nope,” Poe grins at him, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet. “You ready?”

“Yeah,” Finn finished up with the cash register and then grabs his keys. Like clockwork, he flicks off the machines and the lights and grabs the grate, ushering Poe out before he tugs it down with a clatter. As soon as it’s locked, he turns and drapes his arms around Poe, pulling him into a deep kiss. Poe’s smiling against his mouth, hands resting on Finn’s hips.

He stays weirdly far away, and cuts the kiss short to grin at Finn and kiss him on the nose. “Plans!”

Finn fights down the feeling of disappointment and shoves his hands in his pockets. “What plans?”

Poe’s smile gets wider. “While I _really_ enjoy our usual interludes, that’s not the way I usually do things , and it is Valentine’s Day, and you deserve a lot more than pans, scarves, and admittedly awesome blowjobs.” His cheeks are flushed pink as he’s talking, and the tips of his ears are nearly red as he reaches into the pocket of his flight jacket and tugs out a somewhat battered-looking rosebud and holds it out to Finn. “So: Finn Williams, will you please be my Valentine?”

Finn nearly trips. He stares at Poe, mouth fallen open, feet stuttering on the soiled airport floor. They clean it at about four AM. Poe looks expectant.

Finn’s heart is pounding. The rose is in front of him and his fingers slowly close around it and he smiles, slow and genuine. “Yeah. Yeah. Yes, I will. Thanks.”

“Thanks?” Poe repeats, light and teasing. Despite it, he looks relieved, and releases the rose into Finn’s hand with a breathless laugh. “I, uh, I meant right now. If you’re up for it.”

“Are you?” Finn asks, glancing over his face. “I mean, you still look hot, but also like you’ve been awake for 78 subsequent hours.”

Poe just leans up to push a kiss against his chin. He tastes like mint. A lot like mint. “Approaching 79 and I’m dead serious; right now. Got a _plan._ ”

“Okay,” Finn snorts and slides his fingers into Poe’s. “Lead on.”

Beaming at him, Poe leans up for one more slow kiss and immediately starts tugging Finn toward the rows of gates. It’s totally empty down near the end of the terminal,  rows of dark windows and empty desks. No one is there,  not even late-staying airline personnel or sleeping passengers.

Something flickers strangely on the white wall, about halfway to the end. Poe pulls him toward it, stops, and bites his lip. “Okay, so normally I would take you someplace actually nice, but I figured if I let you get home you’d pass out and I’d pass out, and this is kind of where we met anyway—" he actually sounds nervous. After a second, he mutters, “well, you’ll see,” and resumes tugging Finn until they get to a space between the chairs at one of the gates.

There’s an actual flannel blanket spread out on the ground, lined with travel pillows for sitting on, and covered in food (pretzels, coffee from Peet’s, not Starbucks, a few pastries, and what look like two first-class level plane entrees, as well as a heart-shaped box of chocolates that’s nearly the size of Finn’s torso). The flickering turns out to be from several birthday candles from the duty free shops, stuck into a plastic cup to hold them up.

Resting in front of one of the pillows is a nother tiny rosebud.

Poe’s whole face  matches his ears.

Finn stares at it, a smile slowly growing on his face. Then he looks at Poe and laughs, giddy joy bubbling in his chest. “Oh my God. Really?” He pulls Poe close and crushes their mouths together. “You’re perfect. I won’t even be mad if you fall asleep on me.”

“I am _not_ gonna fall asleep on you,” Poe laughs, twining his arms around Finn’s neck. “That would be terrible date etiquette. The worst. You like it?”

“Love it,” Finn grins against his lips. He squeezes Poe close, hands sliding down to his ass. Hefting Poe into his arms, he carries him the few feet to their picnic. Laughing, Poe slides back down his body as Finn drops him, pushing a soft kiss to his throat as he goes. He slips to his knees and holds out a hand, grinning. 

“Care to join me?”

Finn grips his hand, but sways on his feet for a second. “I kinda like you like this.”

Poe’s grin goes a little sultry. “On my knees? I like me like this too.” He leans forward just enough to press his mouth to the seam of Finn’s thigh, breath washing warm through his pants. Finn makes a small noise in his throat, fingers pressing gently into Poe hair.

Then he shakes his head and drops heavily next to Poe. “Later. Uh. Dinner?”

“Dinner,” Poe agrees breathlessly, and pushes a kiss to Finn’s cheek. “Best Valentines feast a late-night airport and very little time can get a guy.”

Finn takes his lips, kissing him like he hasn’t seen him in weeks. It’s close to that, anyway. He groans deep in his throat and asks, “you sure you wanna do the date thing _before_ we do the sex thing?”

“No,” Poe breathes, “not at all. Except I have to leave for another flight in about twelve hours and I need to spend at least part of that sleeping.”

“Your life sucks. How is that even possible?” Finn pushes his hand through Poe’s hair. “You’re going to fall asleep and crash those poor people into the ocean.”

“Those poor people is one rich asshole,” Poe drawls, “so I think the world might actually thank me for my service.”

“That bad?” Finn pulls Poe against his side. “Snap can’t do this one solo?”

“Not this  _particular_ Solo, no.” Poe grins and lets himself flop on Finn’s shoulder, eyes dropping shut.

“Huh?” Finn asks, not really caring about the answer. He pets idly through Poe’s hair.

“Snap won’t work with him alone,” Poe mumbles. He turns his face toward Finn’s throat. “He might crash on purpose just to get rid of him. C’mon, eat.” He picks up the chocolate heart with a little grin and tugs off the lid. Some of the chocolates are missing, like maybe Poe ate some. “I, uh. I picked out the mint ones.”

Finn laughs and picks out another one. “Are those the only ones you like?”

“They’re the ones you don’t like,” Poe says with a tiny smile, “unless you were just judging me for the peppermint mocha thing.”

“No, I don’t like peppermint,” Finn agrees and he leans over to kiss Poe on the cheek, “but I do like how it tastes on you.”

“Oh,” Poe’s smile widens. He brushes his lips along Finn’s cheek until he catches his mouth, still tasting like mint and chocolate. Finn moans, his hand sliding down Poe’s back and he falls into him, sprawled half in his lap. Both of Poe’s arms wrap around him, tugging until they’re both falling back onto the blanket tangled up in each other, and Poe’s laughter fills the small spaces between them. “I was worried about this,” he breathes against Finn’s lips.

“You didn’t think I’d want to?” Finn asks, nosing against his cheek and kissing over his jaw. “Poe, I want to see you every day. I want to see you here and I want to go out with you whenever you’re here. If you want to.”

“But we’ve never even gotten to go out,” Poe murmurs, curling his fingers into Finn’s black shirt. “I mean, man, you deserve so much better than—than all of this. I’d take you to Paris if I could manage it, except Paris is kind of overrated so maybe Guatemala instead.”

“I’d go to Guatemala with you,” Finn breathes into the hollow of his throat, “but, uh, maybe I can take you out. Next time you’re here?”

Finn can feel Poe’s breath catch under his lips just before he pulls back, meeting Finn’s eyes. “Anything,” Poe says. “Anything you wanna do, I’m here for.”

“Anything for you, Valentine,” Finn smiles and drops to kiss him again.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentines Day, y'all! We hope this pointless fluff made you feel warm and fuzzy.


End file.
